Gluten Hates Me

Monday, December 13, 2010

Christmasy Cookies

These past few days I have honestly been to H-E-double hockey sticks and back. I mean you know you’re really sick when you can’t even update your facebook status to say that you’re sick. Suffering from some sort of cold/flu/make me wanna die virus, I have never felt worse.

And I’m sure it goes without saying that dry toast and ginger ale don’t make for much of a blog post. (Although Udi’s Whole Grain is the only thing I’ve eaten for days) Luckily, I have some great holiday cookie posts stored up to share you guys! Including this guest post from Rachel, using THIS ingredient which you all KNOW I love. Enjoy!

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Hi! My name is Rachel and January will mark six years gluten-free. My symptoms began in college, the usual digestive issues coupled with a terrible hive-like rash, and going gluten-free has changed my life for the better. My healthy body has allowed me to become a much better runner. This year I completed a half marathon and I’m planning to train for a full marathon next fall! My diet is much healthier than before and I’ve become a much better cook since I now have to adapt my favorites to fit my diet. My blog, http://lifewithnotwithout.blogspot.com/, is all about celebrating the positive aspects of living gluten-free, I hope you’ll stop by!

Christmas cookies have always presented a challenge. It’s impossible to perfectly replicate a gluten-filled cookie, but I’m trying my hardest to come close! I originally planned to remake a family cookie recipe gluten-free for this guest post, but then I was struck with inspiration! I anxiously await the Christmas season for the arrival of Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses, white chocolate and peppermint – yum! It occurred to me a version of Peanut-butter Hershey Kiss Cookies with sugar cookie base and Candy Cane Kiss center would be delicious and very Christmasy, perfect for Marlow’s guest post.

In my experience, gluten-free baking demands a wide variety of flours. The more, the merrier. I’m particularly partial to this combination of brown rice, white rice, tapioca, sorghum and millet flours, but you could also substitute the flours and xanthan gum listed below for 2 ¾ cups of a gluten-free flour blend.

Candy Cane Kiss Cookies

½ cup brown rice flour

½ cup white rice flour

½ cup tapioca flour

½ cup sorghum flour

¾ cup millet flour

1 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

½ cup sugar

1 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 package Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses, unwrapped

Preheat oven to 335 degrees.

First, sift together all the flours, xanthan gum, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside. In a separate bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Mix in the egg and vanilla. Next add the flour mixture. Once combined, let the dough chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

Roll ½ tbsp measure of dough to form a ball, place on a greased cookie sheet and smush slightly (this will help the sprinkle stick). The cookies will spread a little as they bake, so be sure to leave space between them. Once your sheet is full, sprinkle the cookies with colored sugar (I alternated red, green and plain). Bake for about 8 minutes.

This is the important part: it’s imperative you place the kisses on your cookies as quickly as possible (otherwise they’ll harden). If you’re cooking multiple sheets at once, I’d recommend enlisting an assistant. Once the cookies come out of the oven, place a kiss in the center of each cookie and press down slightly.

Allow to cool for at least five minutes on the sheet and then move to a rack. The kisses will be melted, so move them very carefully!

We made a batch of these Sunday and they’ve been steadily disappearing from the container all week, a sure sign on a hit. Enjoy!